You're My Sol

Chapter 30

Trigger Warning: Depictions of violence

I woke up next to Marisol. She was still sleeping. A scared expression crossed her face as she tossed and turned.

"Marisol," I said gently, trying to wake her up. "Marisol?"

"Stop!" Marisol screamed, thrashing around. "Please don't--oh," she stopped, her eyes softening when they landed on me. "Oh."

I reached out to take her hand. She flinched away.

"Marisol?"

Her hands were shaking as she pulled off the blankets. She glanced at me, looking like a deer in headlights. "I had a nightmare," she said softly, her voice trembling.

I didn't know whether I should ask or not.

"Was it about...?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

I wanted to reach out, to comfort her, but it seemed like she didn't want to be touched. I resorted to using my words instead.

"Does this happen often?"

Marisol hugged her knees to her chest. "Yeah," she said softly.

My heart hurt for her. Seeing the person I loved, huddled into herself, shaking in fear--it hurt. A lot. I knew it wasn't about me, but I couldn't help the tears forming in my eyes. "Is there anything that makes it better?" I asked, imploring her with my eyes to let me help.

Marisol squeezed her eyes shut. "No."

My stomach dropped. She was stuck like this. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked, my heart hurting for her. I felt useless.

She took my hand. "Just being here is enough."

She shifted a little closer, leaning against me. Tears dropped from her eyes onto my shirt. Marisol wrapped her arms around me, and I stayed still. I didn't want to scare her off. She began to sob, thick tears rolling down her cheek.

My heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

* * *

Eventually, Marisol was able to calm down and reenter the present. We decided to take a walk, just to cool down.

We walked through the park, hand in hand. It was getting warm again, with the leaves becomming bright green again and flowers blooming. We walked by the grass field on the other side of the basketball court. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, not a cloud in the sky.

There were some families there, little kids running around and parents running after them. Some people our age, too. We tried to avoid them.

I glanced over to the far end, something catching my eye. I tugged on Marisol's arm.

"C'mon!" I said, dragging her to the side.

Marisol shook her head, laughing. She followed after me.

We made our way over to what I was looking at. The swing set. I dropped Marisol's hand and rushed over, jumping onto a swing. Marisol plopped down on the one next to me.

"Wow, this brings me back," she said, looking around. "I used to go to a park just like this all the time."

She pushed off the ground and swung back. "And I loved the swings. I would always go higher than everyone else."

"Still think that's true?" I asked teasingly.

"Of course I do," Marisol said, winking.

I raised an eyebrow, laughing. "We'll see about that."